News / Lech Walesa urged to "reduce Russia" to 50 million people [360]

@Crow
There is no "Slavic Empire". Slavic countries are both different and similar, but not the same. Are you crazy?
Also, if there was it wouldn't be called "Serbia". Instead one of the more important Slavic countries, Poland or Russia I would guess would control, being worldwide pretty much the most important, more or less.

Poland and Russia interestingly are the opposite ends (culturally I mean) of Slavs, also with the most animosity.

Off-Topic / Stop the SS!!!! [140]

@Miloslaw
Don't say "pathetic". Think whatever about Russia but it's not "pathetic".
It might be sad but it's true. Why would people risk good or even liveable lives? For morals, their own views and opinions.... but those for most Russians come second. If morals are chosen, the results aren't so good even if it's something passive and harmless. I'll give you an example. There is a prima ballerina in the Mariinsky, Olesya Novikova. Very talented, one of best in the world. She wasn't made prima until 37, when she had deserved 15 years before, but she didn't have sex with anyone who could bribe or influence, she preferred her own decency over promotions, and there was as well an issue with her husband, very political type, he was chased out of the Mariinsky because the directors (mainly Fateyev) didn't like him (personally) and Fateyev gave everything to Shklyarov (who he liked... personally). If she hadn't valued morals, she would have been a prima 15 years before.

Why would most people choose morals and opinions, etc., considering the bad effects?

News / Lech Walesa urged to "reduce Russia" to 50 million people [360]

@pawian
Ripping apart a country is not the right solution. And it isn't going to happen, so they should stop "looking forward" to it like vultures waiting to eat a dead body of animal.

There isn't anything inherently wrong with Russia, only the people running it.

Off-Topic / Stop the SS!!!! [140]

@Miloslaw
There will be no revolution unless the majority are actually starving to death, and then success will not be likely. Those in comfortable positions whether or not they like Putin generally don't want to risk losing those positions.

And there will be nothing without a leader who has ideas, appealing ideas that the majority will be happy about.
You must remember that the revolution brought the Soviet Union, which was in some ways worse than the empire, but in hindsight of its existence brought about something in the last few decades very good, only that will probably be ruined by Putin's war with Ukraine, and maybe there will be another Soviet Union of sorts.

News / Lech Walesa urged to "reduce Russia" to 50 million people [360]

@Kashub1410
Those were other countries. It does make a difference to what is wanted to be done. Russian politics don't treat Russia as other countries. I am not talking about the ethics but simply the facts.

And Germany and Poland aren't partitioned anymore, would you want your country messed with that way?

News / Lech Walesa urged to "reduce Russia" to 50 million people [360]

@Paulina
I can't say I've read 1984, but I know the plot, and.... well..... what is there to say? Isn't it Animal Farm that's about Russia though? Does 1984 have anything to do with?

Is that what Russia is seen as? We do have FSB agents in Vaganova right now even, not much privacy or freedom judging by what I've heard of other countries.

Lech Walesa is a idiot. It's a disgusting idea.

Off-Topic / Stop the SS!!!! [140]

@Miloslaw
I don't like him either, but he doesn't represent all of Russians.


Appropriate, you're talking to a Russian. Rudely. What if I said (I think you're Polish?) Poles deserve insults like that (Novichok's poliSSh?). Just nasty, and not needed.


We've even lost most of the foreign ballet dancers :(

Off-Topic / Stop the SS!!!! [140]

@Alien
That's better! Not so... what to say... nasty towards Russians.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]


It's impossible to say. There are so many of wonderful composers in the past, who can tell who's the best? Apart from the obvious superior Chopin of course.

On the side, this has been such a civilised thread for PF, thank you to everyone of you who has made a post on here so far.

UK, Ireland / Boris Johnson - is the new British PM a popular figure in Poland? [150]

Why? Did he do something?

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@Lyzko
Saint-Saens is the one I forgot! I love his music, especially (overdone, I know) the Swan (it isn't called the Dying Swan as I think it is). I think Bizet composed Symphony in C as the Balanchine ballet. Very nice composer.

I think also Adolphe Adam is good, he was the composer of Le Corsaire and Giselle.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@Novichok
Don't worry, no one did.

Off-Topic / Stop the SS!!!! [140]

@MiloSSlaw
It's irrelevent. SS iSS juSSt SStupid and doeSS nothing. It only iSS annoying.
But if others uSSe it, I will, just different way. Like thiSS, on every word with S.

Off-Topic / Stop the SS!!!! [140]

I don't know. I see Russian news, I don't take it as fact. I've heard Russian news is propaganda, US news is propaganda, German news is propaganda, etc., etc. I hear small parts of other news online, it's extremely different.

That is not the point. SS is SStupid and pointleSS.

History / What makes you feel Polish? [160]


That's as bad as "RuSSian". Please don't. SS is stupid and pointless.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@jon357
Interesting. From the picture I looked up, the building is really wide and a similar colour to the Bolshoi. How big roughly is the stage?

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@jon357
I think the same theatre with Polish National Ballet. It's quite a small company I think, but the dancers are very nice, particularly the former Bolshoi soloist Chinara Alizade (deserved to be a Bolshoi prima, but she has real Bolshoi style, so was a soloist).

I don't like Massenet either, not the really a special composer, boring I'd say.
@Lyzko
Yes, Thais as well he composed. In my opinion, a very bad opera.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

The one by Wilhelm Kniezl?

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@Lyzko
No, Don Quichotte. He composed Le Cid, Manon, Chérubin, others as well, quite a lot.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@jon357
I'm not very familiar with the opera, do you mean the one by Massenet?

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@jon357
I was referring to Don Quixote ballet, which was made in Russia, though by Petipa, who was French. It's a very Russian ballet though, to the level of La Bayadère, but it is danced abroad.

I must be smart today, I managed to remember the "e" in Quixote. I always forget, in Russian it's Дон Кихот, nothing extra at the end. I'm so dumb I though Paquita was Pakhita because it's Пахита, with the х in the middle, which normally transcribed to kh.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]


It's a beautiful ballet! Especially danced by Olesya Novikova, I think there's a recording of the variation out of context somewhere.
I think Petipa once made it into a four act with extended music by Minkus, for the Bolshoi Kamenny in St. Petersburg, in I think 1873 or 1874. It's strange that he could alter the score that way, I can't imagine butchered. Though messing up the music was common at the time, look at Swan Lake or (the worst) Don Quixote.

youtu.be/watchv

It's the whole pas de deux. With Novikova and Alexander Sergeev
I'm not sure the link worked, probably not.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@jon357
Tales of Hoffman is very good opera. Pretty much everything Offenbach composed is nice.

Law / I'm from Nigeria, but want to be a Poland Citizen [44]

@Neczypor
Because he's Nigerian therefore likely scammer.

Wait a minute, this thread is from twelve years ago!

News / NATO expansion in northern Europe - great news for Poland [136]



Russian politics, Russian army or... Russia as a country, it's culture and Russian people?

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@jon357
What do you think of Paderewski's Minuet? It's one of my favourite pieves.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@Bobko
It might have been. Maybe Bolshoi. I don't think it's in the Mariinsky repertory, or anywhere but Bolshoi that I know of.
If you want a really interesting ballet, watch the Legend of Love, but I think it's only performed at the Bolshoi and Mariinsky. You can tell a company's country by looking at the dancers. Russians have beautiful arms and back in either style, French have beautiful legs and feet, English is just beautiful classical line, American is fat dancers, Italian have beautiful balance and ballon, there are more like Bournonville, but I've rambled enough already. And Russian dancers are taller and thinner than others.

@jon357
Not Russian music, though it has gone a little off topic. Who cares, it hard to stay on one topic of conversation.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@Bobko
NYCB is the Balanchine company. ABT is more classical. I think Spartacus is more of a Russian thing than American. If you ever want to see it again, you'd be seeing it better in Moscow at the Bolshoi. NYCB, from what I've seen online, has an excellent performance of Balanchine's Jewels. ABT mainly does generic ballets, Swan Lake, Giselle, etc, but not the best productions after Baryshnikov left, because it's run by Kevin McKenzie, a worse director than even the infamous Fateyev. Actually, ABT is getting a new director I think next year or this, Susan Jaffe.

Life / Polish Classical Music [100]

@Bobko
That's ABT or NYCB the ballet? I think that's in Lincoln Square, but I've never been to the USA, so I'm not sure of the place. There are better ballets than Spartacus. Actually, in New York you can see all the Balanchine ballets at NYCB, that many of them can't be seen elsewhere.